News & Events

Stephen Dubner (left) and Steven Levitt sign copies of their book, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, before their public lecture at Colgate on Friday, April 13. (Photo by Timothy Sofranko)

While triskaidekaphobes rubbed rabbits’ feet or cowered in fear, members of the Colgate community proudly turned out in droves for Colgate Day, Friday, April 13. A series of events celebrated the launch on campus of Passion for the Climb: The Campaign for Colgate.

The highlight of the day was the first lecture in the Global Leaders Lecture Series, funded primarily by the Society of Families. Generous support from the Class of 2007 —76 percent have donated so far — also will help endow the fund so that future classes will also enjoy high-profile lectures.

“Apparently, Colgate is the one place on earth that it’s good to be on Friday the thirteenth,” said journalist Stephen J. Dubner, who, along with economist Steven D. Levitt, earned wide acclaim for dislodging conventional wisdom of all kinds in their bestselling book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

Their message — that there is always another question to ask or another way to ask it, a perfect theme for a liberal arts university  — seemed to resonate with the estimated 1,700 people who packed Cotterell Court for their lecture.

“Lots of big questions have already been answered,” said Levitt, “so I found new questions to ask.”

The book uses data to explain the hidden side of campaign finance, falling crime rates, the real estate business, schoolteachers who cheat to improve standardized test scores, the Klu Klux Klan, and more.

All that can be seen of Murray Decock ‘80, vice president for institutional advancement, is his feet as he takes one for the school at the dunk tank at Starr Rink. (Photo by Timothy Sofranko)

Before the talk, more than 100 people had the authors sign a copy of their book, and many students had the opportunity to chat with the authors one on one.  Some students attended special classroom sessions with the authors.

Pian Shu '07, who will follow Levitt's illustrious footsteps to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she will pursue a PhD in economics, was in an economics class that Levitt visited. 

"The most inspiring message I got from his session was the same one I got from his book, and that is as a researcher one should always keep the eyes open and retain the curiosity for social phenomena and the relations behind them," she said.

The day also featured a symposium — Working on the Frontiers of Knowledge Together — moderated by Lyle Roelofs, provost and dean of the faculty, and featuring student and faculty presenters.

Topics included how the Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts and Picker Art Gallery help bring the arts to campus and the wider community; how students have excelled in their studies of the core curriculum; and how a sophomore-year seminar helped teach leadership skills in a unique residential setting.

The day ended on a festive note at a carnival-style after-party in Starr Rink. Students were treated to food, Passion for the Climb T-shirts, music by the faculty band Dangerboy, and a chance to “dunk” a favorite administrator. 

Who got soaked? David Roach, director of athletics; deans Raj Bellani and Beverly Low; and Murray Decock, vice president for institutional advancement, were among the brave, the wet, and the cold.

Starr Rink was the scene for food, music, and a dunk booth in celebration of the campus kickoff of the Colgate campaign. (Photo by Timothy Sofranko)

Barbara Brooks
Office of Public Relations and Communications
315.228.7416